The Race to Become “World’s First Kickstarter Hotel”

Most hotel developers head to the bank or wrangle deep-pocketed partners to finance a new project.

Oregonian Greg Hennes has adopted a more Millennial approach (befitting of his own generation) to revitalize a 100-year-old boutique hotel in his home city.

The Jennings, once a landmark of the recreation-centric Joseph, Oregon — a town of 1,100 loyal residents near the Ferguson Ridge Ski Area — is now a half-empty apartment building. Hennes, a traveler-turned-entrepreneur who funded 13 Kickstarter projects before launching his own, posted the project with hopes of raising $80,000 by June 12. If he secures the remaining $42,000 needed before his deadline, The Jennings will become “The World’s First Kickstarter Hotel.”

The Jennings will also house an ongoing artist-in-residency program, scheduled to launch this month, almost a full year ahead of the expected hotel debut, with author and illustrator team Christina Mrozik and Zoe Keller. The duo recently published a book of their collaboratively drawn illustrations, funded through Kickstarter.